This is one of two new longhorn beetles I’ve found recently, not because I was specifically searching for them, just pure happenstance. (The second species will appear here on Saturday.)

This first is quite small for a longhorn beetle, is a dull brown and has wing cases covered in silken hairs, which, as you can see, make it look quite shiny. Adult longhorn beetles feed on the pollen and nectar of flowers, in the case of Grammoptera ruficornis, the flowers of Hogweed and Hawthorn in particular. The Naturespot website entry for this beetle warns that there are three similar-looking longhorns but, fortunately, the other two species are rarely seen and there are particular features of their antennae that can be used to separate the species.